Hit Single - Chart Hits

Chart Hits

In the United States and the United Kingdom, a single is usually considered to be a hit when it has reached the official Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 or the Top 75 of the 'UK Singles Chart' and stayed there for at least one week (the definition used by the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles since the 1970s). It can be argued that reaching at least the top 100 since the Official Charts Company increased the size of the chart on their website on 23 June 2007 can allow a single to be considered a hit due to the increasing singles market size, after chart rules were changed concerning download singles.

A hit single may be described as a "number one hit", a "top 10 hit", a "top 20 hit" or a "top 40 hit", depending on its peak position. In the UK, (where radio play is not included in the official charts) this not completely reflect the song's overall popularity, as the weekly chart position is solely based on a direct comparison with the sales of other singles released at around the same time. It is therefore not uncommon for a single to fail to chart, but to have actually sold more copies than other singles which are regarded as "hits" purely from their higher chart placement during a period of generally low sales.